Fuel saver for locomotives



Sept. 29, 1931. N. E. FRANCE FUEL SAVER FOR LOQOMOTIVES Filed April 25, 1927 Patented Sept. 29, 1931 l 2:;

NORMAN E. rBANoEI-or', LIMA, oI IIo I FUEL SAVER FOR noc'omo'mss' Application filed. April 23,

This invention relates to fuel savers for comotives or steam engines, and has for an object the provision of novel means for heating Water in the tender tank, including means for delivering the heated water to a locomotive boiler by means of a pump. By reason of this invention, the safety factor in feeding water to boilers will be increased and the injector canbe eliminated fromthe MP engine cab to increase the capacity of the engine cab for other purposes.

It is furthermore an object of the invention to provide means for heating the feed a water from an auxiliary source, as when the engine is in a round house or the like.

With the foregoing and other objects in "iew, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part. of this. application.

, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation of a locomotive and tender, with a device embodying the invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged detail view of the pump and its connections for supplying water to the engine boiler from the tender.

In these drawings, 5 denotes a conventional type of locomotive boiler, and 6 the tender thereof. 7

A coil heating pipe 7 is installed in the tender tank and it may have a trap 8 at one end which will permit the escape of condensation and close as the temperature rises in [m the coil on the well known principle of devices of this kind. The coil 7 is connected by a pipe 9 with a coupling 10, which coupling has a pipe 11 leading to a discharge from J the steam chest or cylinder, and a valved 5 pipe 12 which has its inlet end extending into a turret or dome 13 of the boiler. A valve 14 operativefrom within the engine cab may control the passage of steam to the pipe 9, and so long as the engine is running, the exhaust steam from the engine will be 1927. Serial Ira 1 88,126. v

discharged, into the heating coil, but if the 1 engine is notrunning, steam mayibedeliv ered to theheating-coil through'the pipejl21 and ,thecoupling 10.? 'Ofcourse, other controls-in the 'pipes 11 and -12'maybe used, if

desired, "and one skilled in the art will I und'erstan'd that these can'be supplied without in any manner 'changingrthe operation of the device, ifthesaidicontrols' are properly adjusted? 5 l w A-pump15, preferably of'the cross com municating with the tender tank and with the pump and through the use of a pipe 17 leading from the pump to a valve 18 that is in communication with the boiler. Steam for operating the pump may be derived from the boiler through the use of a pipe 19 leading from the turret, and the pump may be supplied with an overflow pipe 20. A valved coupling, branch pipe or nipple 21 may be provided that communicates with the heating coil or the pipe leading thereto and it may be coupled to a source of steam supply in a round house in order that the water in the tender tank may be heated.

It will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings and from the foregoing description that the pump and parts associated with it may be duplicated on each side of an engine, but further illustration of these features is believed unnecessary for an understanding of the invention by one skilled in the art.

It will be noted'that a feed water heater of the type hereinbefore described is adapted to heat the water in the tender when the locomotive boiler is heated. Also, by closing the valve 14 and connecting the coupling 21 with a steam supply, the water in the tender can be maintained in a heated condition and at the same time hot water may be supplied through the connection 10 when the valve 14 is open to the dome 13 of the boiler.

By means of the foregoing, steam may be supplied to the boiler by the pipe 12 under such pressure as will serve to allow the operation of the locomotive under steam de- UNITED STATES rived from an extraneous source, permitting the said locomotive to be: moved to a zone where firing can be inaugurated in order that the locomotive may thereafter run under steam produced by firing the boiler and at the same time the water in the tender tank 7 will have its temperature raised so that when the locomotive beginsjto function under the steam produced by the firing of the boiler the Water which it will take from the tender Will be of a temperature which will not retard the development of steam as theboiler is fired.

I claim: I

The combination with a locomotive and its boiler, and a tender and its tank, .ofa

water heating pipe coil in said tank, a valved.

pipe leading from the live steam, space of the boiler to the coil in'the tender tank, a valved branch line for connection at one end toan extraneous heat source and connected at the other end to said pipe between the valve therein and said coil, whereby the boiler and ender may both besupplied with heat from :an extraneous source or the tender alone may be supplied with heatfreman extraneous source.

-NORMAN 'E. FRANCE. 

